Screwy Nick Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I bought a butane filler on Amazon, similar to the one's we use at 1/3 the price. In a follow up Email Amazon sent me ideas of other related items I may be interested in, and one was a pressure regulator that reduced the Propane pressure to be used with Butane devices. I was off and running. I fabricated a T so I can easily use either propane in a trailing car or use butane from the tender tank. A quick disconnect with shut off diaphragm at the rear of the tender allows me to connect a std 14.1oz disposable propane tank in a trailing car. Another boost to this is the propane is 1/3 the cost of butane. this conversation was done for the AML 1:29 K4. I shortened the valve stem, but still had to drill a relief hole in the coal load cover. The last pic shows component testing before installation in the tender. LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I converted an Aristo Mikado to propane using the same valve and cans. However I have not been able to get any more of the valves or propane cans. Can you advise where you were able to locate them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 If you are talking about the small valve in the tender, both that and the 14.1oz propane tanks are available at Home Depot and Lowes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Final step: I used an Aristocraft box car for the trailing tank. Built a frame work for the body to slide down on and align with the floor for an easy on and off fit. Velcro straps and wooden wedges are used to secure the tank. Also changed the end configuration of the tank to shorten the assembly so it better fits the car I am using. Again tested all connections with the high side of the pressure tank, and glad I did. The brass sleeve is only to keep the rubber tubing some what aligned with the tender fitting. The ID of the brass and the hole in the box car floor are large enough to allow the tubing to easily move in and out compensating for curves or other track irregularities as a safety measure anywhere rubber tubing connects with metal tubing i soldered a strand of copper wire around the tube to act as a bead so there isn't a smooth surface for the tubing to slip off, and the small tie wrap helps insure that. I am very happy with the outcome of this project and hope it inspires others to tackle their ideas, you'll figure out the details as you go along. LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 ooops...not the same canister or valve I was using Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 Conclusions from a run yesterday. The propane seems to make more heat than butane. No matter how low I made the burner the relief valves just keep going off intermittently keeping the boiler at 60lbs, and i have the Jim Sanders WeeBee valves, they hold at EXACTLY 60 lbs on my pressure gauge. Never did that using butane and the flame at the pokers was much smaller than when using butane. Others may have had different results, but that is what I experienced. If I may add, it was much easier to light, LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 in an inquiry on another forum, took another run this morning on butane. Weather conditions almost exactly the same and dragged around the propane car in an attempt to duplicate yesterday's run. I didn't use the tender heater so as not to pull even the minuscule amount of steam, but did start with warm water in the tender. The relief vales only popped once, and that was when I was stopped to check the water level. . Run Time: The axle pump and 14.1 oz propane tank will run for I don't know how long so I think it is limited to the amount of steam oil. LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted October 3, 2016 Author Share Posted October 3, 2016 This a great solution for loco's that use a lot of fuel for the reasons previously mentioned, I couldn't leave well enough alone, and now I am really confused. I found a chart of gas Combustion with Air. Butane 1970'C, Propane 1967'C. Every where I looked the numbers comparing Propane and Butane temps seemed to be no more than 3 degrees apart. The only marked difference I could find was 'Amount of Air Required to Burn each, using 1 cuft of gas as a guide. Propane required 23.86 cuft of air and Butane 31.03 cuft of air, quite a difference. My runs: The propane reached pop off pressure in under 5 min, butane in almost 7. Pop off valves were going off almost al the time using Propane and only when stopped on Butane. I did my best to keep the speed the same during both runs.Since I didn't adjust the air collars on the burners, the only thing I can come up with is it was drawing more air which - more oxygen and hence more heat. The collars were fully open for both runs. if there was too much air the Propane wouldn't ignite as easily as it did. This raises more ?? than answers. Life is Interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screwy Nick Posted October 10, 2016 Author Share Posted October 10, 2016 Subsequent runs determined that I had to close the air collars. One poker actually glowed cherry red after 15 min of run. Limiting the amount of air tamed down the flame and resulted in less waste of steam and less use of gas. Very happy with the results. LG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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